A Cry in the Snow
by Mr. Nanook
Summary: A man losing his sanity wanders through the snow one day to stumble upon a bird. This is the story of the first Gunter. Rated K.


**AUTHOR'S NOTES: For anyone that's actually reading this, consider this story to be your lifesaver as you swim in this desolate swamp they call the **_**Adventure Time **_**fanfic universe. It's no surprise I hate what this place has become and due to all you shippers out there, and you know who I'm talking about, that couldn't think of anything else to write, I've stepped down and am now writing part time for this place. Thank you guys so much for keeping an aspiring writer down, knowing that his many great concepts will only drown on an endless sea of shipping stories. I used to consider this place to be home, but now it's more of a vacation house in Mexico that you rarely go to and once you're there, you're immediately reminded why you ever left in the first place. Before you all go back to read your boring ship stories, take a quick peek at this one, why don't you? Maybe it'll inspire you.**

**UPDATE (3-29-13): Due to some newfound encouragement, I will indeed write another multichaptered story on here by next month. This will be the beginning of a revolution. More to come!**

_**Adventure Time**_** and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © **_**Cartoon Network**_**. I own nothing except for the story and any characters I created that may occur.**

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The fierce winds blew across the icy tundra and spread the large amounts of snow around the land. For most beings in the Land of Ooo, the icecaps are the one place that everyone tends to stay away from. It's too cold to camp and too cold to enjoy the scenery. Anyone with a brain, or anything remotely close to a brain would know that freezing to death is possibly the most agonizing way to die. The only things that can inhabit these frigid regions of Ooo are snow golems, polar bears, certain types of fish, and penguins.

Ah, the penguins. Mischievous little rascals, those things! One minute, they'll be squawking amongst themselves about what kind of fish they ate for dinner, while on the other, they'll discuss their plans for world domination. With their cute exteriors, ruling the world would be an easy job, according to themselves. A penguin's life is simple as there is not much to do in the snowy landscape that they inhabit.

Around here, a penguin's life is simple: eat and swim. If they have children, then another factor is added. The occasional snow golems around are no bother to them as they are on friendly terms and even socialize from time to time. Sometimes they'll even help each other out with certain jobs, such as capturing fish or keeping fire wolves at bay. The only things to worry about were fire wolves and polar bears.

The penguins were a family. Even though some weren't related, the bond that they all shared was strong enough to overcome any obstacle that came their way. However, none of the penguins expected a strange blue man with a crown to come by.

Enter Simon Petrikov. Years ago, he had come across a magic crown that, when worn, gives his magic ice powers. This power came with a cost, however for every time he wears it; he loses more and more of his sanity every time he puts it on. The crown would soon become a heavy burden for Simon, but he just couldn't part with it.

The crown talked to him. It told him about the secrets of the ice. It told him that it would protect him. It told him to never leave it, for if he did, he would die. Indeed, the crown was keeping Simon alive with its powers, but was also eating his sanity inside-out. He slowly started to lose memories of past events and would sometimes black-out when the crown would take over. Recently, he's been able to fight back and gain a miniscule amount of self-control, but the crown always seemed to get the best of him. When his friend Marceline would see him with the crown, it frightened her. She always hoped that Simon wouldn't use the crown, but he couldn't give it up.

"I need it to live," he somberly told her one day. Simon didn't know how long he would need the crown, but he didn't have time to figure it out. He needed to find shelter and he needed it to be frigid. The crown's influence had grown strong enough to manipulate Simon to find shelter as cold as his heart. After wandering for miles, Simon stumbled upon the icy tundra and felt at-ease.

"Now this place I could get the hang of!" he said to himself. Upon his snow-white hair and blue skin was the face of an insane old man. Holding the crown in one hand and a pickaxe in the other, Simon decided to observe his new home and walked further into the arctic landscape.

The sounds of footsteps on ice traveled far enough to alert one penguin sleeping amongst his brothers and sisters. While taking a nap, he had heard a noise that alerted him. The penguin struggled to squeeze out of the pile of penguins that he was currently trapped in. With a little bit of muscle and elbow grease, he slipped away and landed on his belly. He then stood up and waddled to the source of the sound.

"Man, this place is great!" Simon said with glee. "So much snow and mountains and snow and water and…snow! What more could I ask for?" Simon then looked to his side and realized there was no one there. "Oh…a friend would be nice," he added sadly. His friend that had accompanied him for so long, Marceline, had run away from him a few days ago. He couldn't remember the exact details, but what had happened was he had put the crown back on due to them being under attack by mutant frogs while they were exploring the sewers. Due to them being in an enclosed space, his ice powers were very effective, but also managed to hurt Marceline in the process.

"Oh, God Gunter!" he said after he had filled the entire sewer with blankets of snow. He walked towards her in her downed state and extended his hand to help her up. "I'm so sorry! Are you-"

"Just stay away from me, Simon!" Marceline cried in tears. Mustering up some strength, she got up, bit Simon's hand, and ran deeper into the sewer. Simon tried to follow him, but tripped on the snow, causing the crown to fall from his head. Very slowly, his beard and hair started to revert back to their regular size and his head cleared up.

"Wha?" he mumbled. "What happened?" He looked around to find everything covered with snow. He had vaguely remembered putting on the crown and then remembered something else.

"_Marceline!" _he thought fearfully. "Marcie?" he called. "Where are you?" He dug frantically into the snow around him in hopes of finding his friend. "Marcie? Are you here?" He dug into one pile that he was sure Marceline was under and was saddened to find no one. "MARCELINE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" he cried.

He searched and searched until the sun went down, but never found her.

"Marceline…" he whispered with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

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"Man, what a bad dream!" he stated after snapping back to reality. "I wonder where Gunter went, though." The lone penguin waddled closer to the strange delusional blue man and observed him. The penguin looked on at Simon with awe. He hadn't seen a human in months since the bombs were dropped and assumed that any sane human being surely wouldn't come near the icecaps. The penguin however took note of the man's odd appearance and knew something was wrong with him. His blue skin, sharp teeth, gray hair and beard, and magical crown were dead giveaways. The penguin decided to crawl even closer.

"I suppose lunch is out of the question?" Simon asked himself. "I'm pretty hungry."

The soft sounds of footsteps in the snow interrupted his thoughts. He gasped. "Intruder!" Without any warning, Simon shot heavy amounts of snow from his hands and covered the entire area around him with even more snow. The poor penguin observing him was buried in a huge pile of snow. All he could do is squawk weakly and try to cry for help, but only to have it muffled.

"Yeah, try to mess with me now, boy!" Simon taunted. His celebration was cut short but a muffled cry in the snow. It was incredibly hard to hear due to the fierce winds now blowing in, but it was loud enough for Simon to pick up. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I'll save you!" He ran to the source of the cries and dug furiously into the snow to save the victim.

"Oh, please be okay!" he pleaded as he dug deeper into the snow. Suddenly, he hit something. He gasped in relief and patted the remainder of the snow away to reveal a lone penguin. He lifted to penguin up from the snow and patted the snow away from his body gently. "Oh, it's a penguin!" The penguin opened his eyes once he heard a voice.

"Wenk?" he squawked in confusion and saw his savior.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" he cheered. He suddenly hugged the penguin as if it was his long-lost son, possibly due to his insanity or that he was proud to find a new friend. The penguin didn't know how to react to this sudden display of affection. The force of affection was enough to make the penguin hug back.

Simon smiled. "You know, I did lose a friend earlier, but I can't remember her name..." He tried to recall back to her, but he only drew a blank. "Darn it!" he cursed. The penguin in his arms could only look on as the blue man troubled to remember the young girl's name.

Unfortunately, the only name that could spring up was an erroneous one. "Aha! Now I remember! I shall call you...Gunter!" he happily declared. "You like that name?"

The newly-named penguin nodded. "Wenk-wenk!" he happily responded with a smile.

"Well, then! Take me to your lair, Gunter, so that I may take refuge!" Simon requested. He set the penguin on the floor and held his flipper. Gunter started to head back to his siblings so he could show them his new "discovery".

"You know, Gunter," Simon started. "This place could make a nice kingdom. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Wenk wenk," he replied.

**THE END**

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**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, I'm done. Leave a review if you want. Nanook out.**

_**Originality is a bad word these days.  
-Mr. Nanook**_


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